so much going on

I'll start with what Eric has been up to. First he ran for Student Body President. He made a very creative campaign poster using photoshop (thanks Dad)(see above). He didn't win there, so now he is running for Senior Class Representative. He is currently the Junior Class Rep. I posted one of his 2 hand drawn posters to the right. I just love his creativity.

In case you can't read the smaller print, it says:

"Two thumbs up!"

-Tbert and Rexskil

Eric Perazzo Senior Representative (4 more quarters!)

Hannah was involved in the Honors Choir concert this week. She had tried out and made the choir back in December. They've had a few practices and then the northern Nevada choirs all joined together for a concert earlier this week. Good thing that was last weekend, cause now she's sick. :(

Glen (who was sick himself earlier this week...slept 22 hours out of 24 from Monday to Tuesday) is currently in Idaho because as the "teacher of record" for the school's swing dance team, he traveled with them for a competition in Idaho Falls this weekend. One of our teams won first place last night for their dance "Footloose." It really is fantastic...you wouldn't believe how far the guys throw the girls in the middle of the song. Individual competitions are going on right now, I believe. Hope they do well.

Ryan has not yet returned from the boy scout's Klondike Derby...where they camp in the snow once a year. There wasn't snow this year, though, I was told. Why anyone would want to do that is totally beyond me, but Ryan must like it as he goes back year after year. Hey! He just came in the door! He said he had a good time and that there was some snow, but Uncle David wouldn't let him sleep in it. Now he's going to go and get cleaned up for tonight's church dance.

Alex had his first Blue and Gold dinner for Cub Scouts this week. Before he went out of town, his dad helped him make a cake for the traditional "Fella's Cake Bake." Alex's award was for the "Best Use of Candy." It was candy left over from our gingerbread houses this past Christmas.

Have gotten a few nice, newsy emails from Andrew lately. He'd been sick, too, so last week was kind of rough on him. But he seems to still be managing to have a lot of fun. He certainly knows a lot of people.

As for me, I got to be Glen's sub for 2 days. I can't complain much...but some students in his set building class really need attitude adjustments. (I wanted to talk about my desire for a cattle prod, but decided I shouldn't be saying things like that ;). Besides subbing 3 days, going to the temple, and working on my genealogy, I have also been reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" for our book club. It took me a little while to get into it, but now I'm really enjoying it and can't wait to see what happens. Well, it's not that I can't wait, it's that I didn't. I cheated and read the last 2 pages, so I kind of know what happens...but it'll be interesting to see how the events come about. Pathetic, aren't I???

Oh! Something fun. One of my roommates from my sophomore year at BYU, Laura Lorentzen, lives in Reno with her family (though I confess, other than bumping into her in Winco about 10 years ago, we've haven't had any contact since college). She and her husband John teach music there and their children won a chance to be on a CBS show "Singing Family Face Off" next Wednesday.

Here's a link to one of the news stories: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090223/NEWS18/90223003

Here's the song they auditioned with, which was written by their dad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA2F0AdZBXM

I wish them lots of luck!!!!!

Genealogy...my new focus

I've decided I don't like to use the word obsession...so I'm going to use the word focus for this email. I think it fits better and certainly sounds more mentally stable (whether I am or not is not up for discussion here, however, but at least I sound that way, right?).

As I've mentioned before, I jump around in what I focus on. Most recently it's been Spanish, reading and music. I guess I'm back on the genealogy track again.

It all started with a simple little email from a Suffolk county, New York list I'm on...the kind of email I often ignore. It mentioned a website for checking out some newspaper articles from the area for the 1830s to the 1960s. I just had to plug a few names in.

So, I have come up with some new leads...one says that John Henry Miller (my great-great grandfather) has a brother-in-law ex-commissioner of highways Henry B. Southard. My attempts to find out anything about Henry (like his wife's name so I know who John's sister is!!!)have been disappointing. But it's always fun to have a new lead.

Then I tracked Ezra Sammis's family only to realize that there had to have been 2 Ezra Sammises in the area and most of the info I found did not deal with my 4th great Uncle. Oh, well, that's the way it goes.

So, for the last several days I've been at the computer...and my kids aren't happy about me bumping them off. What a blessing computers and the internet are to family history work!

How long with this focus last? Until a new one comes along...however long that may be.

missions and stuff

Yesterday my nephew Adam spoke in Sacrament meeting. Did a fabulous job, too.

Today he left for Utah with his parents. Wednesday he'll enter the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and in a few short weeks he'll be sharing the gospel in the Lansing Michigan mission. Glen also served in Michigan (Dearborn mission which no longer exists)...his old mission and Adam's just share a few towns, but maybe Adam will get sent to Owosso and serve where Glen did. That would be cool.

Anyway, talked to Andrew today. Interrupted his calculus homework. But sounds like he's getting in plenty of social life, too, so don't feel too sorry for him. He's had an interview with his Bishop and is working on his mission papers. In just 6 1/2 weeks he'll be 19! So hard to believe. Really. Just mind-boggling. Can't wait to see what's ahead for him.

Twenty-five years ago I was in the MTC...had just completed my 1st week there. That's also mind-boggling. Of course, I've forgotten a lot of what it was like and what I did. But I do remember the nervousness of it all. It was an exciting time and full of great experiences. Glen and I hope to serve a mission together. I'm thinking it'll be less scary when you take your own companion with you.

Anyway, we'll be praying for Adam for the next 2 years, as we are already praying for another nephew, Danny, who is serving in the Joao Pessoa Brazil mission. Wonder where Andrew will go?

yo-yoing or how could I have let this happen again?

I have never been thin. There are only a few times I haven't been overweight. I never really tried diets, though, and my weight was usually constant...no yo-yoing, just slow trends.

When I was about 11 I was normal weight, after having been a bit chubby. Then, when I was 12, we moved from Massachusetts to Lousiana...where it was too hot and humid to play outside...where I didn't have friends that I played with after school...where I stayed in the house inactive and snacking for 5 years. By the time I started college I was about 162 and stayed at that weight my 4 years there. On my mission I went up to almost 200 pounds.

Then when I was first living on my own after graduating from college and serving my mission, I couldn't afford food (junk food, anyway). Plus I worked all day so I wasn't home to eat and I dropped down to 142 lbs...which is just 4 pounds off of being considered medically overweight for my height, but still, I was considered normal weight.

I met Glen, married, had Andrew. Then with the help of Weight Watchers, I was able to lose the pregnancy weight I had gained by the time he was one. I got back down to the low 140s...and then got pregnant with Eric and have been overweight and/or obese since then.

A little over 3 years ago I was up to 195. I finally buckled down, joined Curves, and watched what I ate (my cholesterol was too high and if I couldn't control it with diet and exercise the doctor was going to put me on medicine...that was a good motivator for me).

By the fall, I was down to 165 and feeling pretty good. But after being "good" all summer, I couldn't seem to hold it together any longer and started to eat too much again.

Here comes the yo-yo.

So, fall of 2006 I was 165 lbs.
By the end of winter 2007 I was 175 again.
By the end of summer I was 165 again.
By the end of winter 2008 I was 175 again.
By the end of summer I was 165 again.

I almost made it into the 150s in November. Almost. Oh, and after 2 1/2 years, I quit going to Curves because it was just so hard to get there, now that I'm subbing part time. But at first I couldn't seem to make myself exercise at home.

Here I am, almost the end of winter 2009 and I'm at 172. My cholesterol is too high. I was feeling out-of-control with my eating habits.

But now that spring is coming, I'm hopeful once again. I actually started exercising at home again. I'm eating marginally better.

If I could just get down to 145...and stay there...it would be so wonderful. Why can't I seem to do it? I lost 30 pounds before, so I know how. Maybe I should post my cholesterol number on the fridge...that might be a good motivator.

I just need to snack healthier. And keep exercising. So easy to say, so hard to do.

to Utah and back

I loved the contrast between the brown mountains, the white snow and the dark shadows...it looked better in real life.

I had my first visit to the Ogden Temple. My sister-in-law came from Farmington to attend a session with me. Very neat.

Glen and I took his drama students (well, 10 of them anyway...including one of our sons and a niece...and a nephew as another chaperone) to Utah for the annual theatre conference put on by the UTA (Utah Theatre Association). This year Weber State hosted and it was in Ogden. The weather was gorgeous and the kids were great. I didn't attend the workshops, but went to see the productions.

We saw the musical "Into the Woods" put on at Weber High School. It combines a few fairy tales...Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Bean Stalk. They did a *fantastic* job...I just didn't like the play. Why not? you may ask. Well, the story line wasn't to my liking. For example, after Prince Charming and Cinderella marry he's off in the woods kissing a married woman. Then the woman gets kills by the dead Giant's wife (from Jack and the Beanstalk). And Prince Charming winds up with Sleeping Beauty. Cinderella stays in the forest with her new friends [Little Red, Jack-who's mother has been killed by the Prince's steward-and the Baker (whose wife was the married woman kissing Prince Charming who has since been killed)]. Confused? Sorry, I'm not good at explanations.

We also saw "Camelot" which I really enjoyed...you might say there was a similar theme so why did I like one but not the other, but in Camelot there is a "real" price to be paid for the infidelity. It was put on by Bonneville High School. Great job.

Saturday night was the Aerial Angels show. It involved aerial stunts as well as a bullwhip segment and a fire-eating segment. Amazing.

Besides the temple and carting my van load of kids around (Glen had a van load, too), I relaxed by reading in my room. It was wonderful.

One sad note to the trip, while there we learned of the death of a wonderful lady back home. She'd been battling cancer and we knew the end was near, but it's still a bit of a blow. My heart goes out to her family. We'll all miss Rita. She was a great woman and will be sorely missed by all. I'll have to bring a ton of kleenex to her funeral. I'm sure it will be very touching and emotional. She was a great example. I'm so glad that I had the chance to know her.